“What are you doing here?” she says, irritation lining her tone, though I’d guess that half of it is put on.
Or at least I hope that it’s put on.
“You left,” I say, not wanting to have this conversation in the hall.
“Don’t you know it’s rude to show up at a woman’s room uninvited?”
I smile tightly at the scowling couple that passes by. Another two minutes out here, and I’m going to get reported for harassment. “Genevieve, please. Let me in. We need to talk about what’s going on between us.”
“Whatever is going on between us needs to stop. You should go.”
I’m conflicted. Her words say one thing, but I also hear her subtext. It matches much of what’s going on inside me—confusion, excitement. Maybe a little bit of fear.
Okay, more than a little bit.
And maybe I’m making it all up, and she doesn’t really feel the same way I do. I lean my head against her door. “Do you really want me to go?”
She’s quiet, but I sense her there, on the other side of this barrier, and I want her more than ever. “Tell you what.” I pray I don’t sound like I’m begging, even though I kind of am. “You let me in and explain what happened tonight, and then I’ll go. I think I’m entitled to that much, don’t you?”
There’s another beat of silence.
Then the deadbolt clicks and the door swings open. There she is, her hair down and damp from a shower, her face freshly scrubbed, wearing nothing but pajama shorts and a tight tank that perfectly outlines her tits.
She’s so beautiful, it makes my stomach hurt. Or higher than my stomach, somewhere in the middle of my chest, a pinching feeling that makes me feel both a little sick and a little amazing.
“Come on in then,” she says, sweeping her arm out in invitation. As I step past her, she adds, “But keep you bits in your trousers, please.”
Jesus, she sounds like my brother.
I move into the room, giving her space. “I will keep my pants zipped, as long as you promise never to refer to it as a ‘bit’ again. Monster would be preferable. Lord could work. Great Big Dick of Amazingness would earn lots of points with me.”
She folds her arms across her chest and smirks. “Do I need points from you?”
It’s a tad embarrassing how transparent my interest is. But I own up to it. “No, you really don’t.” I unbutton my jacket and turn toward her, my hands in my pockets. “It seems like I need points from you.”
Her shoulders relax slightly. “Don’t be charming.”
“Or what?”
“Or we’ll end up with your bits back out of your trousers. Excuse me,” she says, correcting herself. “Your Great Big Dick of Amazingness.”
I can’t express how happy it makes me to hear that phrase come out of her sexy little mouth.
It’s a relief, too, that she’s obviously still interested in my Great Big Dick of Amazingness. I sprawl out on my side on her bed, all suave-like. “And that’s a problem because?”
She throws her hands in the air and starts to pace the room. “Because I don’t have time for you! You’re an obstacle on the path to my dream career. A distraction. Tonight, I should have been on my A-game. I should have spoken up and given my ideas instead of letting my father and Hagan take all the limelight. You know that subscription service idea? It was mine originally. Hagan ran with it after I mentioned it in passing. I should have taken credit. It’s still got merit but too small in scope, as far as I’m concerned.”
I take half a second to bask in her acknowledgment that she’s into me. I’d like to spend more time on the topic, but that’s not what she needs from me. So after I get past my ego, I mentally make a note to tell Hudson about the subscription service before Hagan has a chance to claim it as his.
Propping my head up with my elbow, I consider what else she said. “Now you’ve learned that you should hide your cards in front of others. And you did, for the most part. That’s smart. Sounds like A-game to me.”
“Except that wasn’t my reason for keeping silent.” She continues to wear a path back and forth across the room. “I was too wrapped up in thoughts of you to even think of that.”
This time my ego speaks before I can silence it. “Thoughts of me?”
She ignores my interruption. “And then you whispered those crude words. How was I supposed to think strategy after that? Do you not realize how important this opportunity with Werner Media is for me?”
Actually, I hadn’t really thought about it. I wish I had, and I want to rectify that now.
Before she crosses by the bed again, I stand up and pull out the chair from the desk. “Can you sit please? You’re making me dizzy.” Actually, her pacing is adorable, but it’s keeping her wound up, and I want her calmed down.
She stops short in front of it. “Fine.” With a reluctant sigh, she sits.
I move around to sit on the edge of the bed, facing her. “Okay. I’ll admit that I did encourage some bad behavior. I take full blame for speaking inappropriately.” I don’t remind her she’d started it by practically grabbing my goods. “I do not take the blame for you taking off your panties, however—”
She shoots to a stand. “I knew you were going to bring that up. I make one bloody mistake, and you’re throwing it back in my face. That’s your fault too, you know. It wasn’t like they were doing any good anyway. They practically melted off the minute you showed up looking like a crumpet in your black tie.”